May 28--It took 12 years to pull off, but The Commons at Southtowne shopping center in Sandy is open, replete with retail tenants, and tapping consumer dollars in the fast-growing area of Salt Lake County.

The $60 million center across State Street from South Town Center regional mall officially opened two weeks ago. But the project dates from 1997, when owner Johansen-Thackeray Commercial Real Estate Services constructed the first two buildings occupied by big-box retailers Petsmart and Staples.

The project ground to a halt until Wal-Mart vacated a too-small store and built a bigger superstore 10 blocks down the road in South Jordan. Work picked up again two years ago, and now the 225,000-square-foot Commons is a fact.

"I like it. I like the tenant mix, the fact that you have so many soft-goods stores in a nonmall location. Nordstrom Rack is a wonderful tenant to put in a small mall like this," said John Thackeray, manager of Salt Lake City-based Johansen-Thackeray.

The 35,000-square-foot Nordstrom Rack opened April 2. It's the second such off-price Nordstrom in the Salt Lake Valley, spokeswoman Julee Kraus said, the other being in Sugar House, 15 miles to the northeast.

"There's a good mix of retail tenants and restaurants [at the Commons]. It's a great location ... and we feel there's more business we can earn in the greater Salt Lake area," Kraus said.

The Commons consists of 18 buildings with a village feel. It is 98 percent

leased with 23 tenants, including numerous clothing and shoe stores, as well as several restaurants, a bakery and an ice cream shop. Most are open, with several shops set to come online later this year.

"I think it's an ideal location. If you are patient, you can put together this type of mix. We were always hopeful," Thackeray said.

What the Commons doesn't have is a grocery store, drug store or home-improvement store. Instead, it has Carter's Clothing, Rue 21, Seasons Boutique, DSW Shoes, Kinder Winkel Children's Boutique, ULTA Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance, Bed Bath & Beyond, Eyemasters, Sports Authority and Famous Footwear.

Several food establishments are sprinkled among the retailers -- -- Paradise Bakery, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Nothing Bundt Cake, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Mikado, Pei Wei, Costa Vida and Baskin Robbins.

The Commons is opening during the worst economic downturn in Utah and the U.S. since the 1930s. Last week, the Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.4 percent in April, while economists had expected sales to be flat. Without improved consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S.